The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

[quote="GuEsT0102"]Correct me if I’m wrong, but after the semi finalists are selected, it’s up to the sponsoring facilities to choose who to sponsor. So is this evaluation guide primarily used to determine the semi finalists? Or are the sponsoring facilities also using this method of evaluation? If it’s only used to determine the semi finalists, does anyone know the evaluation method used by the sponsoring facilities? Thanks :D[/quote]

It's just like any other job, semi-finalists are equivalent to making it through the computer and hr screening that determines they meet all required qualifications and would be a good fit for the company. After that it's up to the facility to decided who/what they need. There's no set guide as it could change year to year/major to major etc. I imagine they focus more on your essays/past experiences and why you would be a good fit than they'd focus on your test scores and GPA since they know you're good enough in that aspect to have made it this far.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but after the semi finalists are selected, it’s up to the sponsoring facilities to choose who to sponsor. So is this evaluation guide primarily used to determine the semi finalists? Or are the sponsoring facilities also using this method of evaluation? If it’s only used to determine the semi finalists, does anyone know the evaluation method used by the sponsoring facilities? Thanks :D

I was selected as a semifinalist at the graduate level as well. As I said earlier, my GPA was below last year's average, so it certainly was not the selling point of my application. There seems to be a lot of weight placed on the essays (35% for undergraduate applicants and a whopping 45% for graduate applicants), so I imagine that would be a good opportunity for applicants with less-than-stellar numbers to make up for perceived deficiencies in their academic record.

This was really interesting. I made it to the semis despite my GPA being kinda mediocre and my third reference not submitting his letter (or if he did I was never notified).

I guess my papers/GRE/statements carried the day.

Looks like you can post this as a reply to the thread currently pinned about application guidelines!

Update: as of today (Jan. 25) the original page has been made private and now requires a username and password to access. I think this rubric will greatly help future applicants in terms of knowing roughly where they stand, and how they can maximize their chances. If any forum moderators are still around, I would like to request that this topic be pinned.

Very interesting; thanks for the insight! As a graduate level applicant this year as well, that is comforting for me to hear. My GPA is below last year's posted average but my GRE scores are very strong (all sections above the 90th percentile), so I am hoping that makes up somewhat for it. I was also quite pleased to find that they didn't place as much weight on academics as I had anticipated.

That rubric makes a lot of sense in my case so I bet last year was very similar. As a graduate applicant I didn't have a very good GPA (above the required though so that might be all that matters) or test score but I'd had three full time internships and connected all that to why I would be a great fit for any of my top three choices which probably bumped me up enough to be higher than people with great school performance and no experience.

Posting this here for future reference (in case it gets deleted on the original page).

This was taken directly from the link at: https://smartscholarshipprod.service-now.com/eval?id=kb_article&sys_id=8ca5cbd4dbf3c300afd6748e0f96191d

[quote]

There are two different rating scales that will be used in evaluating applications.

· Undergraduate –Applicants who indicated they are seeking funding towards an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or Joint-Bachelor’s/Master’s degree. Associate and Bachelor’s degree students must be currently enrolled at an accredited university. GRE scores are not required. SAT/ACT Scores are required of freshman/first year applicants.

· Graduate – Applicants who indicated they are seeking funding towards a Master’s or PhD degree. These applicants may or may not be currently enrolled in school. GRE scores are required of these applicants.

Panelists should be aware that applicants designated as “Graduate” students demonstrate a variety of graduate educational experiences. Some may be changing fields following receipt of an advanced degree in science and engineering while others may be returning to formal academic study following several years in the workplace.

RATING SCALE

Each application will be reviewed independently, using all available information. The application components and materials are grouped as evaluation elements, a numerical rating is designated for each element, and the applicant’s score is the sum of these ratings. Panelists will rate applications on a common numerical scale, ranging from 100 (best) through 0 (worst). Ratings must be reported in whole numbers – decimals will not be accepted. The following is the breakdown of the scoring:



For Undergraduate Degree:



Academic Evaluation:

20 Points - GPA(s), transcripts, test scores (if applicable)

5 Points - Publications & Presentations/ Awards & Honors

Summary of Educational and Professional Goals

20 Points - Summary of Educational and Professional Goals

15 Points - Summary of Research / Engineering Interests

Experience

10 Points - Community and Volunteer Work

10 Points - Leadership Experiences

10 Points - Teamwork Experiences

References

10 Points - References

100 total points



For Graduate Degree:



Academic Evaluation:

10 Points - GPA(s), transcripts, test scores (if applicable)

10 Points - Publications & Presentations

10 Points - Awards & Honors

Summary of Educational and Professional Goals

20 Points - Summary of Educational and Professional Goals

25 Points - Interests and Research/Engineering Explanation

Experience

10 Points - Community and Volunteer Work, Leadership Experiences, and

Teamwork based on Research/Engineering Project Experiences

References

5 Points - Reference 1

5 Points - Reference 2

5 Points - Reference 3

100 total points

[/quote]

I am not sure how this compares with the evaluation rubric used in previous years, but just from a cursory glance it looks as though academics (GPA/test scores) are weighted more heavily for undergraduate applicants than they are for graduate applicants. Also, at the graduate level there seems to be a premium placed on research (publications, presentations) and awards/honors, rather than leadership/community/volunteer experiences at the undergraduate level.